"Itachi!"
Seeing Itachi again, Sasuke found that he wasn't as furious as he had imagined.
On the contrary, he was incredibly calm at this moment.
Of course, his killing intent hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Facing the cold stares of over a dozen pairs of Sharingan, Itachi's face remained unmoved.
As he entered the hall, he ignored the others and immediately looked toward Sasuke, sizing him up. He calmly said:
"Sasuke, you've grown taller."
Sasuke responded in a cold tone, "You, however, haven't changed. Your eyes are still just as cold."
"Is that so?"
Itachi glanced at Sasuke, who remained still, and was slightly surprised. "You're not like the last time, charging recklessly and yelling."
The last time they met was in the hallway of an inn outside Konoha.
Sasuke's mind flashed back to that memory.
At the time, the moment he saw Itachi, rage consumed him, and he attacked alone—only to have his Chidori easily deflected.
But now...
Sasuke sneered and looked at Itachi, "Of course, you don't understand me at all. The past is the past. Now, I've forged my own path. Itachi, prepare to face our fury!"
"Our?"
Hearing Sasuke's words, Itachi finally shifted his gaze, scanning the room.
"Uchiha Itachi!!!"
Jin, Yokai, and Zankai glared at Itachi with hatred. (TL: I don't keep track of the names of the OCs. lol)
Before they could say more, Itachi ignored them and continued to scan the room.
It wasn't until he saw Izumi's slightly unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar face that he paused for a brief moment.
But soon, he averted his gaze, his expression remaining indifferent as he looked back at Sasuke and said, "So, your support comes from these people? A group of Uchiha remnants, barely surviving after escaping death for so long?"
"Uchiha Itachi! We've waited for years, all for this moment! Here, we will end you once and for all!" Jin shouted, unable to contain his anger.
Itachi shook his head calmly. "You all should have found a quiet place to live out your lives, not come here to die, wasting the fortune you've been given."
"Mother is dead, Grandma is dead, my friends are dead, and all our clan members are dead. If we don't avenge them, what meaning is there in living?" Izumi, with red-rimmed eyes, looked directly at Itachi, her voice trembling with emotion.
Itachi remained silent.
Without looking at Izumi, after a brief pause, he simply said:
"Living is the meaning."
After speaking, he ignored the other Uchiha and turned to Sasuke again, saying, "I told you before, when you possess eyes like mine, you can come to find me. But it seems you're still not qualified."
"Do I need to kill my closest friend to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan? I'm not like you. I have no interest in such a vile method of advancement," Sasuke scoffed, gripping the hilt of his sword. "I don't need the Mangekyō. I, and everyone here, can take you down without it."
"Everyone, huh?" Itachi lowered his eyelids, concealing the brief flicker of relief in his eyes.
When he looked up again, his face was cold. "I wonder, after all your 'everyone' dies, will you then awaken your Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Clang!
Sasuke's expression darkened as he unsheathed his blade, his gaze sharp. "You won't get that chance!"
"Is that so?"
For the first time, Itachi's tone shifted, a rare heat and even greed emerging as he said:
"Though there are more people here, it's still a good thing. Sasuke, I've waited a long time for this day!"
"Your eyes, I'll take them!"
Crackle!
Lightning sparked from Sasuke's blade as he coldly responded, "I've waited a long time for this day too! I don't need your eyes, just your life!"
"Kill Uchiha Itachi!"
"Avenge our clan!"
"At any cost!"
The other Uchiha ninja all drew their weapons, their killing intent soaring.
In that moment, the blood-red glow of countless Sharingan shone menacingly within the Uchiha shrine.
The battle for Uchiha revenge had officially begun.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At some point, the loud clash of metal reverberated continuously in the hall.
The sound was so intense that even Kisame, standing by the collapsed torii gate, could hear it.
"Has it begun? Another Uchiha civil war."
Civil war was nothing new to Kisame.
In the past, within the Hidden Mist Village, political coups and internal strife had been as common as drinking water.
It was because of his deep disappointment in reality that, upon hearing of "Uchiha Madara's" Eye of the Moon Plan, Kisame had eagerly joined the Akatsuki.
Compared to the other Akatsuki members who only knew about the Tailed Beast Weapon Plan, Kisame, who knew a deeper layer of the truth, was undoubtedly trusted by "Uchiha Madara."
However, even now, Kisame couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for the likely outcome awaiting Itachi.
"Can he win?"
Aware of Itachi's deteriorating health and vaguely sensing his true intentions, Kisame still held a sliver of hope as he listened closely.
Just as he instinctively stepped forward, trying to hear more clearly, a voice suddenly spoke from behind him:
"If I were you, I wouldn't take another step forward."
Kisame froze, not turning around, and immediately reached for his sword, Samehada. "Oh? And why is that?"
"Because if you take another step, Samehada will have a new master." The calm, unwavering voice spoke again.
Kisame's hand paused, but he still grasped the hilt of Samehada.
Then, he finally turned around to face the speaker.
Black hair, black eyes—young, and indeed, somewhat resembling an Uchiha.
But there was no Uchiha clan crest on the plain white robes he wore. Instead, on his shoulders were two crescent moon symbols.
"Wait! The crescent moon... the Hagoromo clan?!"
Thanks to the resurgence of the name "Hagoromo" in the shinobi world over the past two years, many, like Kisame, had come to recognize the clan's symbol, just as they did the Uchiha crest.
Kisame's pupils shrank as he looked at the young man again and immediately recognized him.
"Gensou!!!"
Itachi had been utterly defeated by this man, and even "Uchiha Madara" was wary of him.
Moreover, Sasuke, along with other rumored surviving Uchiha members, had reportedly pledged themselves to this figure.
Now that they were here, it made perfect sense that Gensou would be as well.
Realizing this, Kisame immediately dismissed any thoughts of fighting. He released his grip on Samehada and respectfully addressed Gensou, who had suddenly appeared:
"Hoshigaki Kisame, at your service, Gensou-senpai."
(End of Chapter)
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